Carnival Cruises 2015 Annual Report Download - page 5

Even with these four new ships, our capacity growth in North America and Europe will be less than 2 percent in
2016. As anticipated, our overall 3.5 percent capacity growth will again be weighted toward Asia Pacific as we
transfer capacity to meet increasing demand in that region.
Accelerating Demand
I am very proud of our teams’ many accomplishments last year. Those efforts included our multi-faceted
campaign built around the 2015 Super Bowl, which generated more than 10 billion positive media impressions
during the height of wave season; P&O Cruises’ delivery of Britannia, the largest ship ever built specifically for
British guests and named by Her Majesty the Queen; Princess Cruises’ 50th anniversary celebration, which
reunited the original cast of “The Love Boat” television series, and featured an award-winning float in the Rose
Parade; Cunard’s 175th anniversary salute to Liverpool where the three Queens — Elizabeth, Victoria and Queen
Mary 2 — captivated 1.3 million onlookers in what may have been the largest attendance at a single day
maritime event in history; and, most recently, our historic five-ship event in Sydney Harbor for P&O Cruises
(Australia).
These well-crafted opportunities showcase our brands, increase consumer awareness and bolster consideration
for a cruise vacation. In fact, our positive media impressions are up three-fold in just two years.
In 2015, we made significant progress on many other initiatives designed to achieve consistent revenue yield
improvement by creating demand that surpasses supply.
Of course, the best way to increase demand is to continue to exceed guest expectations. One way to accomplish
that is to bring the best specialty restaurants and celebrity chef-designed menus to sea. Our growing list of
renowned chefs includes Thomas Keller, Australian chef Curtis Stone and chocolatier Norman Love, joining
Marco Pierre White, Guy Fieri and David Burke, among others.
We continue to enhance our entertainment offerings across our brands with the addition of B.B. King’s Blues
Club, the live interactive music experience Billboard Onboard, The Voice of the Ocean, Lincoln Center Stage
and new productions by Stephen Schwartz, award-winning composer of “Wicked,” along with a host of
technological and programming innovations.
The diversity of great entertainers aboard our ships keeps growing with headliners like country music superstar
Carrie Underwood, folk legends Crosby, Stills and Nash; jazz star Herbie Hancock; and even the Grinch, through
Carnival Cruise Line’s Seuss at Sea program. And, to give consumers yet another reason to take a cruise, we will
host our first Fashion Week at sea in 2016.
These, along with fresh retail and gaming options, are all designed to offer guests even more of what they want
and in turn drive higher onboard revenue.
Our focus is on consistently exceeding guest expectations and creating lifelong advocates. Customer feedback
indicates that we are continuing to deliver on our guest experience, and the intent to repeat is very strong across
our brands.
New Market Opportunities
We reinforced our leadership position in the burgeoning China cruise region with the successful introduction of a
fourth ship in 2015. We are well positioned in 2016 with two more year-round ships — one each for the Costa
Cruises and Princess Cruises brands.
We expect to bolster our growth in China for years to come. Beyond 2016, Princess Cruises’Majestic Princess,
the first ship built specifically for Chinese guests and designed to stimulate consumer demand, will enter China
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